The Ionia girls basketball team showed little signs of a letdown Friday night in its district championship game against Lakewood at Thornapple-Kellogg High School.

The Bulldogs, who earned a spot in the final after defeating district favorite Portland in the semifinals, jumped out to a 10-0 lead, then brushed off a Viking rally in the second to seize control in the third en route to a 51-32 win, earning the first postseason trophy for the program since 2004.

"We got a great performance from a senior captain in Erika Ketchum, who hit some big shots in the first half and continued to knock them down in t he second half," Ionia coach Andy Barr said. "I thought Sarah Swartz did a nice job defending Emily Kutch, which is a tall order, we got great pressure from Joanna Miller and Anna Riccius pulled down 18 rebounds.

"We had some people step up and got great contributions from a lot of people."

The Bulldogs' pressure paid dividends right from the start of the game Friday night as they were able to create easy baskets to earn a 10-0 run. They held Lakewood scoreless until Kutch hit a layup with 3:24 left in the quarter.

Ionia took a 15-6 lead into the second, but the Lady Vikes were able to rally, taking a brief 18-17 lead. However, the Lady Dawgs finished the half strong to take a 24-18 advantage at the break.

In the third, Ionia opened up their advantage with an 11-3 run, then after Kutch hit her second three of the quarter, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run. Lakewood junior Taylor VantLand hit a 3-pointer at the Buzzer to cut into the Bulldog lead, but Ionia was still in control with a 43-27 advantage heading into the fourth.

"This is awesome," Lady Dawg junior Taylor Bovee said. "This is what we have been working for all year and beating Portland on Wednesday gave us a great boost of confidence going into today.

"Coach Barr kept us on task after Wednesday. He told us we can celebrate on the bus ride back home, but after that it was back to normal."

Taylor Bovee led Ionia with a game-high 16 points, including eight in the third. Erika Ketchum finished with 12 points on 4 3-pointers, while Riccius scored eight to go along with her 18 boards.

Ketchum said to win a district after having the first winning season in her four years on the team is special.

"It's a big deal for us," she said. "Not only have we not won (a district) in nine years, but we have also had the first winning season in my four years. Things have just progressed from there and here we are today."

"It feels pretty good."

Page 2 of 2 - Kutch paced Lakewood with 15 points in her final game, while fellow senior Brooke Wieland and VantLand each scored five.

"We had a hard time being patient on offense and made some passes that (Ionia) was able to get their hands on and Emily wasn't able to square up in the post," Lakewood coach Denny Frost said. "We also knew going in that we needed to stop Bovee and Swartz, but Ketchum stepped up.

"That's why they are district champs. Those seniors and other players stepped up for them tonight. Despite the loss, I am proud of the way our girls battled tonight."

Lakewood finishes the season with a record of 7-16.

Ionia (14-8) will return to T-K High School on Tuesday to take on Hamilton in the regional semifinals. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.